Zhu Xiang failed to ride the horse.
It took them five days to return to Xianyang. Zhu Xiang's hands and feet were weak, he couldn't sleep at night, and he was in a very depressed state. He was not in a condition to ride a horse by himself.
Zichu couldn't help but mutter that Zhu Xiang's psychological endurance was too poor, and Lin Zhi glared at him fiercely.
"I really don't know whose son Zheng'er is." Lin Zhi couldn't help but sneer, "Not only do you not care, you're also making sarcastic remarks!"
Zichu defended himself: "I'm not saying this to refute you. Zheng'er is obviously fine, Zhu Xiang doesn't need to worry at all."
Lin Zhi said: "Zheng'er learned this habit from you. In order to solve the problem once and for all, you took the initiative to lure out the assassin and scratched yourself with an arrow. Zheng'er is also following your example!"
Zichu touched his nose and said, "In this respect, he is indeed like me."
Zhu Xiang pressed his forehead and said, "Stop arguing."
Zichu and Lin Zhi quickly shut up.
Five days later, Ying Xiaozheng, who knew that his uncle had returned, went to meet him outside Xianyang City to show that he was fine.
Zhu Xiang opened the door of the carriage without caring about the etiquette between the emperor and his subjects. Before Zichu moved and the carriage stopped, Zhu Xiang jumped out of the carriage.
"Zheng'er!" Zhu Xiang held Ying Xiaozheng's face with both hands. When he saw the scars on Ying Xiaozheng's face where the plaster was applied, tears immediately welled up in his eyes.
How dare she do this, Zheng'er in my family is the one who is only spanked with her palms when she's too naughty!
"Uncle, I'm fine, really fine. The scar has already formed and will heal soon." Ying Xiaozheng quickly comforted his uncle, "Look, my wound has begun to heal."
Zhu Xiang rolled up Ying Xiaozheng's sleeves.
Ying Xiaozheng failed to stop him in time, revealing the bandage under his arm.
Although he only suffered superficial injuries, he still had to apply medicine. He could apply medicine directly on his face, but he had to put on clothes and bandage his body.
The wounds on Ying Xiaozheng's body were not deep, but there were many. The palace did not need to save money on silk and satin, so the imperial doctor bandaged both of Ying Xiaozheng's arms.
Zhu Xiang held Ying Xiaozheng's bandaged arm, his hands trembling constantly, and he choked with sobs and was unable to speak.
Only then did Zichu and Lin Zhi come over.
Prince Chu of Qin looked at the wounds on Ying Xiaozheng's body and felt that Ying Xiaozheng's injuries were much more serious than he had imagined. He finally felt a little panicked.
He glanced at the ministers who came with Ying Xiaozheng to greet him, and did not lose his temper.
"Go back to the palace first." Qin Wang Zichu patted Zhu Xiang's shoulder, "I will definitely solve this matter."
Zhu Xiang took a few deep breaths, wiped away his tears, and carefully helped Ying Xiaozheng put down his sleeves: "Okay, go back first, go back first..."
He didn't dare to pull Ying Xiaozheng's hand, which was also wrapped in bandages, so Ying Xiaozheng took the initiative to hold his uncle's hand.
Zhu Xiang couldn't help but ask, "Does it hurt?"
Ying Xiaozheng wanted to say that it didn't hurt, but thinking about the suffering he had endured these days, he couldn't help but complain: "I didn't feel any pain when I was injured, but it hurt too much when I applied the medicine! Uncle, can you talk to the imperial physician? My wound is very shallow, so I don't need to use alcohol and allicin."
When it comes to alcohol and allicin, Ying Xiaozheng's eyes turn red again.
The pain caused him psychological trauma!
Lin Zhi said with a fierce face: "You deserve it!"
Ying Xiaozheng glanced at Uncle Lin, whose face was dark and didn't dare to refute.
Uncle Lin knew him too well, so no excuses were of any use.
Lin Zhi said, "When Zhu Xiang learned that you were injured, he immediately fainted from anger. He had planned to ride back directly, but you frightened him so much that his hands and feet became limp. He couldn't eat or sleep well for five days and was completely unable to ride a horse, so he had to take a car back."
Ying Xiaozheng's eyes widened and he quickly looked at Zhu Xiang.
Only then did he realize that his uncle seemed to have lost a lot of weight.
“Sorry…” Ying Xiaozheng lowered his head and apologized honestly.
Lin Zhi said earnestly: "I know what you want to do, but before you do it, think about how many people will be worried and sad. Forget it, go back to the palace first."
Zichu waited until Lin Zhi finished scolding him before chiding him: "Zheng'er, listen carefully to your uncle Lin's words."
Lin Zhi wanted to say, "Isn't this just learning from you?" But there were many colleagues around him, so he tried his best to be patient and not embarrass the King of Qin in public.
"I was wrong." Ying Xiaozheng quickly admitted his mistake, "Sorry, there won't be a next time."
From now on, there will be no one he can deal with in a self-destructive way.
Zhu Xiang did not answer. He just kept looking at the wound on Ying Xiaozheng's face, as if if he looked at it a few more times, Ying Xiaozheng's wound would heal quickly.
Zichu waved to Cai Ze and asked Cai Ze to ride in the same carriage with them.
Zhu Xiang sat with Ying Xiaozheng, while Zichu, Cai Ze, and Lin Zhi squeezed together. Fortunately, the King of Qin's carriage was big enough, so it was not too crowded.
"What's going on?" After the carriage started, Lin Zhi asked impatiently.
Cai Ze glanced at Ying Xiaozheng and said, "After you left, the queen asked the palace maids to invite the prince..."
Zichu waved his hand and interrupted, "No need to be polite, just speak directly."
Cai Ze took a deep breath and glared at Ying Xiaozheng fiercely.
Ying Xiaozheng quickly looked away.
Cai Ze said angrily: "Chunhua wanted to deceive Zheng'er. She did not abandon Zheng'er, but handed Zheng'er to Zhu Xiang, and then led the assassination of King Zhao away..."
Lin Zhi cursed: "Does she think there are no Zhao officials in Xianyang City? When did the King of Zhao try to assassinate her?!"
Zichu nodded continuously: "Her actions are always under my control."
Zhu Xiang then spoke coldly: "Why did you sell yourself and take away all the valuables in your home?"
Cai Ze said: "So she lied. Zheng'er exposed her, and she became angry. The servants in the queen's palace said so. You should ask Zheng'er whether it is true or not." Cai Ze personally interrogated the palace servants around Zhao Ji to find out who was behind this. He knew that Ying Xiaozheng was the first to slap Zhao Ji, but he didn't say it.
Ying Xiaozheng should speak up about this matter himself.
Ying Xiaozheng hesitated for a moment, lowered his head a little, and told everything that happened that day without hiding anything.
"I was able to remember things when I was very young, so I remember all the bad things she did to me before I was raised by my uncle. I wanted to use this incident to anger her and let her insult me a few times, and it would be best if she slapped me and let Mr. Xun see it. After that, I can naturally ignore her without worrying about anyone accusing me of being unfilial."
"But..." Ying Xiaozheng glanced at Zhu Xiang, then quickly lowered his head, "I was irritated by her and slapped her."
Zhu Xiang tried to stay calm: "It involves me and Xue Ji?"
Ying Xiaozheng nodded slightly.
Zhu Xiang asked, "Your right hand is the most seriously injured. Did you injure it yourself?"
Ying Xiaozheng raised his head and looked at Zhu Xiang in surprise.
Zhu Xiang said: "I raised you since you were a child, how could I not know your character? You will not let Chunhua hurt you so badly."
He looked down at Ying Xiaozheng, whose right hand was wrapped very tightly, but one could still see that it was a circle larger than his left hand, and then glared at Zichu fiercely.
Zichu: "…Why are you glaring at me?"
Lin Zhi said: "Of course I am thinking of your heroic act of scratching yourself with an arrow when you were the crown prince."
Zichu was helpless: "How many times have you mentioned this? Can you please stop mentioning it? And I just scratched myself..."
He looked at Ying Xiaozheng, who was wearing clothes and had many wounds on his exposed cheeks and hands.
"I'm not as hard on myself as he is." Zichu really admired his son. No wonder King Zhaoxiang of Qin favored Zheng'er when he was only three or four years old. He himself couldn't do this.
Ying Xiaozheng lowered his head and said, "I couldn't help but hit her. If I hadn't hurt myself more seriously and scared her, she would have used this to attack me."
Zhu Xiang asked: "Where else did you hurt yourself?"
Ying Xiaozheng shook his head vigorously: "I only scratched my right hand, only my right hand!"
Zhu Xiang stretched out his finger and touched Ying Xiaozheng's wound, then quickly withdrew his fingertip for fear of hurting Ying Xiaozheng.
He clenched his hands in his sleeves and asked, "The wounds on your face and arms were all caused by her?"
Ying Xiaozheng nodded. His expression was gloomy, even though he himself was not aware of it.
Zhu Xiang's eyes flashed.
This matter was indeed in the plan of his nephew. But perhaps Ying Xiaozheng himself did not realize that he had never thought that Zhao Ji would be so cruel.
Are you unwilling to avoid it because you haven't thought about it
Children's attachment to their mothers is natural. Many children still want to be recognized and loved by their parents even after many disappointments.
Although Ying Xiaozheng is not like this, he still can't help but have extravagant hopes for his biological mother in his heart.
Zhu Xiang took a deep breath: "Xia Tong."
Zichu immediately said, "You say!"
Zhu Xiang said: "I want to make a petition to depose the queen!"
Several people showed an expression of disbelief.
Ying Xiaozheng did so many things just to be able to imprison Chunhua openly and not be shackled by Chunhua in the future. But Chunhua is Ying Xiaozheng's biological mother after all. Even if she treats Ying Xiaozheng badly, under the pressure of the word "filial piety", Ying Xiaozheng must raise Chunhua.
What's more, if Chunhua was deposed, Ying Xiaozheng's position as crown prince would be tarnished, attracting attacks from others!
"Zhu Xiang, calm down!" Cai Ze quickly advised, "We need to think about this matter carefully!"
He knew that Zhu Xiang was already mad with anger and he couldn't stop him, so he could only hold Zhu Xiang down and wait until Zhu Xiang calmed down before trying to persuade him.
Zhu Xiang shook his head: "I am very calm."
He knew that even if Chunhua hurt Ying Xiaozheng so badly, it would be useless. Chunhua would still be the Queen of Qin, and after her death, she would still be the Queen Mother of Qin, and Zheng'er would even have to pinch his nose and posthumously confer her the title of Empress Dowager.
In history, Zhao Ji and her lover rebelled, but Qin Shi Huang still had no way to deal with his biological mother. Rebellion is much more serious than this.
But Zhu Xiang was determined to challenge the rule that "filial piety" is more important than anything else in the world!
Perhaps Zichu no longer needs to worry about himself and can give Chunhua a cup of poisoned wine to let her go, so that Chunhua will no longer implicate Zhenger. But he does not want such a mother to enjoy the honor of death through the child she abused and abandoned.
His child did not deserve such humiliation.
"I will submit a petition in the court, and I will take full responsibility for this matter." Zhu Xiang said, "Your Majesty, please call all the ministers to discuss it. If all the ministers disagree, I will give up. I am not forcing Your Majesty, I am just expressing my attitude."
Zhu Xiang looked at the scarred face of his and Xue Ji's only beloved child.
"After ten years, she still has not repented. She was so vicious that she hurt her own child so much. In the future, she wants to use this child to become the most noble woman in the world."
Chunhua even became the first empress dowager in history, and easily left her name in history, surpassing many true heroines in later generations.
"Why?" Zhu Xiang's rough big hand gently fell on Ying Xiaozheng's head, just like when Ying Xiaozheng had not yet tied his hair, "This is unfair."
(End of this chapter)